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What is mindfulness meditation?
Where does mindfulness practice come from?
What is mindfulness in psychology?
The 4 characteristics of mindfulness
Everyday examples of mindfulness
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Jump to section
What is mindfulness meditation?
Where does mindfulness practice come from?
What is mindfulness in psychology?
The 4 characteristics of mindfulness
Everyday examples of mindfulness
Attempting to practice mindful meditation — whether for a minute or several — can lead to a tornado of thoughts swirling in your brain. All of a sudden, you may start wondering if you’ve fed the cat, what’s for dinner, the best couch for your living room, or if you need to do a grocery run.
It’s tough to silence your brain. But that’s also the point behind this practice.
Meditation is about being patient and disciplined. It requires you to sit with your thoughts and emotions, notice them, and let them go.
Mindfulness is a type of self-care you can practice every day. But what is mindfulness, really? Discover how this ancient practice works, along with the many benefits it delivers.
Here’s a simple definition of mindfulness: it’s the act of paying attention to your actions, surroundings, thoughts, and feelings.
Easy, right? After all, you wouldn't get much done if you weren’t paying attention.
But you’d be surprised how much of your life occur on autopilot. You might muddle through your morning routine, commute to work without thinking about it, then spend the day responding to any issues that arise.
You’re probably mindful during some of it, like getting up to stretch because you’ve been sitting at your desk all day. This requires you to pay attention to your body and what it needs and act accordingly.
But you might have been doing other things you weren’t aware of simultaneously. Were you biting your nails unconsciously? Was your heart beating faster due to stress? Were you clenching your jaw?
Mindfulness-based stress reduction is about becoming aware of your unconscious thoughts and behaviors. It can help prevent burnout and improve your emotional regulation. And through this process, you can break negative patterns and change how you relate to the world around you.
There are many beneficial effects of mindfulness. For instance, you may experience:
Reaping the benefits of mindfulness means making it a regular practice. Of course, developing new habits takes time. But you’ll feel the difference even after the smallest steps.
BetterUp can help you develop healthy habits. With the help of our coaches, you can make a plan to improve your well-being and stick to it.
If mindfulness is the practice of self and situational awareness, mindful meditation is a way to develop this skill. You can also do everyday activities with more mindfulness. You can even practice mindful eating. This habit will help connect you to the here and now.
Usually, mindful meditation goes something like this:
This technique forces you to focus on yourself. If you’re not used to sitting still, it might take some time to settle in. But once you do, you might notice new things about yourself.
You can meditate for any amount of time. If you’re just starting, you can try for 10 minutes, then gradually increase.
Whenever you complete a session, you’ve essentially “warmed up” your brain to be more conscious of the world around you. It helps you be more mindful throughout the rest of the day.
Not everyone agrees on the origins of mindfulness training, but many researchers say it started in Eastern countries.
Some texts in Indian Buddhism referenced the practice as early as a few hundred years BC.
We can also find traces of it in ancient Chinese texts. The Daoist philosopher Laozi wrote about mindfulness principles between 200 and 500 BC.
That being said, the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity also feature meditative-like exercises. That’s true even if we don’t traditionally associate these faiths with “zen.”
These days, meditation is no longer exclusively a Buddhist or Christian spiritual practice. Almost a quarter of non-religious Americans say they engage in some kind of mindfulness activity.
Beyond its spiritual roots, mindfulness and meditation are heavily researched. Take a look at some studies into the science of mindfulness — each reiterates the health benefits of mindfulness work:
There are many forms of meditation. Each requires your full focus and attention and carries similar benefits. Here are some of the different types:
Every type of mindfulness shares four common characteristics:
Each of these characteristics supports the other. When you practice any type of mindfulness exercise, you engage all four.
Mindfulness can affect your daily life for the better. As you develop your practice, you can maintain awareness outside your meditation activity.
Here are some examples of how you can do that.
The frequency of your mindfulness practice will depend heavily on you and your goals.
But for more intense exercises like body scanning or sitting meditation, it’s better to treat it like going to the gym. You need to set aside time to make it happen and work it into your daily routine. You know yourself best, so it’s up to you to carve out time for it.
So what is mindfulness?
In short, it’s a practice that takes time. But you’ll be rewarded for your patience and discipline. Its benefits are rooted in ancient history. They’re reinforced by neuroscience and mindfulness research. Once you build the habit, you’ll notice many things start to improve.
Vice President of Alliance Solutions
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